Seven Days of NCIS
by Tigyr
Summary: Chrononaut Frank B. Parker is sent back to correct a tragic mistake. Only trouble is, he's seen by Timothy McGee. Seven Days/NCIS crossover.
1. Prologue

_Ever wish you could live your last week over again? Well, my name's Frank B. Parker and I get to all the time. I work for a secret government project experimenting in time travel. When things really get messed up, I'm the guinea pig they send back to fix everything. Catch is, I can only go back seven days._

Prologue: Day One

Conundrum: Frank Parker grins as he imagines the looks on his teams faces as he explains this situation.

"What's up Frank?"

"I need your help sir. I have to get inside the Navy Yard and save an NCIS agent."

Dr. Bradley Talmadge and the rest of the Backstep team can tell there by the tone in the chrononaut's voice that something unusual is going on. "Only problem is, he looks like my twin brother."

Tap, tap, tap. Frank B. Parker slowly turns around and looks into the green eyes of yet another NCIS agent.

"Gotta go sir."

Timothy McGee motions for Frank to follow him and the chrononaut sighs as he hangs up the phone. Tim leads him over to his car and hits the key fob asking,

"Who the hell are you and what the hell are you doing here?"

"You sure you want to know?" Frank says saucily.

"I just had lunch with someone who looks exactly like you. What is going on?"

Parker sighs as he wonders how to explain.

"I thought the Backstep program wasn't supposed to be implemented for a few more years." Tim hisses as he opens the car door and Frank stops in his tracks as he stares at the young man.

Finally Frank asks, "You...how do you know?"

Tim motions him inside the silver Porsche Boxter, "Come with me and stay down! If Gibbs sees you there will be Hell to pay!"


	2. Chapter 1: Day One

Frank keeps his head low as he watches the young man drive. McGee isn't a reckless driver, but he is a careful one. Frank was surprised that no one had told him about the young NCIS agent. His name had come up in passing as the Backstep team had gone over the files regarding the NCIS team and his mission, but he didn't know that much about Agent Timothy McGee and for the green-eyed man to know about Operation Backstep is not just surprising; it's also a bit disturbing. No one was supposed to know about that and he's wondering just who McGee is and why no one has mentioned him before now.

"I'm Tim, by the way, and I know what you are, I'm just not sure who you are or why you are here."

Frank exhales as he wonders how to explain.

"Actually, don't say anything until I get us both to a safer location." Tim drives for several more miles until they are out of the city limits, and then nods to let Frank know it's safe for him to sit up in the seat.

Franks curiosity gets the best of him and he has to ask, "If you don't mind my asking, how do you know about the program? I thought it was supposed to be a secret from just about everyone."

Tim's reply isn't one he's expecting, "I'm a former student for several of the doctors that were going to implement the program. I try to keep updated on most of them."

Parker thinks that over as Tim pulls into a private residence. Leon Vance is just exiting his own vehicle and raises an eyebrow when he sees Tim pull in, then he sees Parker and frowns.

Tim opens his car door and motions for Parker to come with him,"Director Vance, I'd like to introduce you to our first chrononaut."

"Frank B. Parker, sir."

Vance nods, still not sure why the two men are there "McGee, what is going on?"

"Operation Backstep." Tim says curtly and Vance is shocked enough that his toothpick hits the ground without anyone noticing.

NCIS-Seven Days

Vance stares at Tim then at Brent Langer's doppelganger. If not for a small scar barely visible under Frank's shirt, he'd have sworn Langer was standing in front of him. He looks at McGee who motions for the chrononaut to step forward.

"You sure about this, Agent McGee?"

Tim sighs, "I had lunch with Langer not more than ten minutes before I spied our friend here at a phone booth. I thought this would be the safest place to bring him under the circumstances."

"How did you know to bring him here? How did you figure out he's with that particular program?"

Tim motions for them to go inside, and then turns on the music in the front room.

"Conundrum is the code word that I suggested to Dr. Ballard when he came to MIT to ask for volunteers to help set up the computers. We were all put through a thorough screening before any of us were chosen. We were sworn to secrecy and none of us saw any of the others after the computers were initialized. I decided to continue with my studies and joined FLETC shortly thereafter. I'm sure you know the rest of my story from there."

Vance nods then points to Parker. "What are you doing here and why would you need to get near my people?"

"Your mole hunt is going to have a ringer. I'm here to make sure that he gets out alive."

The second toothpick follows its predecessor to the floor. This time Vance picks it up, and was about to take off the paper to stick in his mouth when he decides to just give up on the toothpick chomping for the day. Somehow, between the two young men in his living room, he didn't think he was going to be able to get a toothpick into his mouth without eventually choking on the damned thing.

"What...how much do you know about the hunt?"

Parker looks at McGee who looks back at him, shrugging his shoulders. "I...a lot sir. I know who it is and what they've done. No, it's not anyone in this room and yes, it is someone on the MCRT at the moment. The original team is in the clear. Langer is not your mole; he's being set up though by the person who is."

The three men move into Vance's den, and as he closes the door, he's wondering just who forgot to tell him that Timothy McGee is not a simple junior agent; he is an agent working on a top-secret project that Vance himself has just barely set eyes on in the last month. He's always thought that it was unusual for Tim not to be in command of a team by now; is there a particular reason the young man stays with the MCRT?

Tim looks at the confusion on his Director's face. "I like the field work more than being in a computer room. I just didn't want to be known as that geek or someone who only worked with computers. I requested Norfolk for a reason. I figured eventually someone would see past the computers to the agent I wanted to be and Gibbs did."

And now it dawns on Vance why the younger man stays on that particular team - loyalty to the man who'd seen past a facade to the agent within. Vance shakes his head as he listens to Parker and McGee talk about Operation Backstep and what both have been contributing to it.

Both men look up when Vance steps closer. "We have a short window of time and a helluva man to try to buffalo into believing you to be his agent."

Tim smiles, "That might not be as difficult as it seems. The main thing we need to do is get Langer into position so that Frank can imitate him for at least an hour. The hard part is going to be getting Ducky to agree to this so that we can substitute a "dead body" for a live one."

Vance is glad he gave up smoking, as the cigarette would have been on the Oriental carpeting by now. How many more surprises were these two going to give him?

"You're sure about who the mole is?"

Frank nods "Yes sir, but I think and I'm hoping you'll both agree that it's best for the situation to play out as close to the original as possible. You're going to need that person to think that Langer is dead, and then you're going to have to explain to Gibbs why he's not once the operation is over."

Tim nods as he thinks about possible scenarios, "Head injuries with a bullet hole or two can usually provide that answer. Or maybe just the head injury with severe bruising due to wearing a kevlar vest. The issue again is Ducky submitting a death certificate for an agent who won't be dead. Merely unconscious due to the injuries he'll sustain after being shot."

Vance reaches for the phone saying, "Let's just call the good doctor in and get his opinion on this. He'll be the best one to decide how to play that particular hand.

Tim warns him, "You know that Ducky will be extremely reluctant to hide this from Gibbs."

Vance glares at him, "I'm surprised that you want to. That you've been able to hide this from him all these years."

Tim stares at him. "When you're the low man on the totem pole, you don't always get seen for what you are; they see the illusion, they don't see what is actually in front of them. Which has come in handy for the last few years. It's not something I want to keep from Gibbs, it's something I've had to keep from him, in order to keep my own anonymity and yes, to keep my position on the team. I'm okay with being in Cyber-crimes; don't expect me to stay there. As for Ducky, it's possible that he already knows what we're about to tell him. Lord knows he has enough stories for anything to be true at this point."

Vance and Parker are surprised by that statement.

Tim sighs, "Don't you think it's a bit odd that he has a story for almost any situation? It's a way to direct attention away from himself."

Parker looks at McGee with respect, "Then he could already know, we just need his cooperation."

Tim nods, "Yes, again, the bad part is going to be trying to keep it from Gibbs. He knows his agents; he has that gut that sees and he sees an awful lot."

Vance thinks about the former Marine, the odd little ME and the two agents in front of him. He tells McGee and Parker that they're staying the rest of the day. McGee looks at the cell phone in his pocket as it vibrates yet again. He knows who it is, but for right now, he has more important things to think about than a conversation with a certain forensic scientist. He is about to go get his go bag out of his car when he turns and asks Vance if he'll have clothing that Parker can wear as the chrononaut will need something more than the dark blue jumpsuit that is another dead giveaway, in Tim's eyes anyway, about the Backstep program.

Vance looks the chrononaut up and down, then asks McGee what he'll be needing to bring in as the young computer expert will not be leaving his residence until they solve the conundrum in front of them.

"Just my laptop, and some extra clothes, Director. What about your family?"

" I just saw them off at the airport; Jackie and the kids went back to LA for a week. They don't like the malls here so they went back home. I'm going to be getting a major credit card bill in a month because they went about shopping for school clothes and seeing the in-laws."

Parker gives a bittersweet smile as he thinks about his ex-wife and son, "At least you have your wife and kids sir. I'd do anything to spend time with mine."

Vance hangs up the phone and the three men continue discussing what they can do in order to save one life and take down a traitor. Hours pass and Vance is surprised with how much they've come up with. He again starts to reach for the phone to call in Ducky when Tim suggests they call it a day.

"We've had a lot to take in, a lot to discuss and we'll be better off doing it over the course of a new day."


	3. Chapter 2: Day 2

Donald "Ducky" Mallard is a bit surprised when the phone rings just as he enters Autopsy that morning. He answers it and then he hears the Director's voice say, "Conundrum. My house in two hours." There is an audible click and he puts the telephone down, and picks up his mac and derby from where he'd just set them down. That short sentence was surely an indicator that something was about to hit the fan, Ducky just wasn't sure what that something might be. The elevator dings and he smiles as Abigail Sciuto bounces into Autopsy.

"Ducky, have you seen McGee? He was supposed to call me after lunch yesterday and he never did."

"I have not seen Timothy today, but I will pass along your message if I do."

"You don't suppose he forgot. No he wouldn't forget, he knows that I would kill him if he did. Well, not really, but still why wouldn't he call me?"

"Probably just got busy Abbs." Gibbs says as he walks into the room.

"He's in Cyber-crimes, Gibbs! How busy can he be?" Abby says as she accepts his peck on the cheek before bouncing back to the elevator and her lab to get her babies ready for the day to come.

The two men stare after her and share a chuckle. Gibbs shakes his head, and then looks at his friend who is still standing there holding his mackintosh and derby.

"Just getting in Duck or early dismissal?"

"I just came in to make sure nothing new had come in over the last few hours, Jethro. I have an appointment that I had forgotten about, and it will take me out of the office for most of the day." He turns to where Palmer is cleaning equipment in an effort to stay busy. "If you need anything I am fairly certain that Mr. Palmer here will be quite capable of helping you."

Gibbs raises an eloquent eyebrow, as he watches Jimmy trip over his own two feet.

"Yes, well, he will try to assist you anyway." Ducky says with a wry chuckle as he heads for the elevator.

Gibbs watches him go, sipping thoughtfully from his ever present coffee cup. He looks over his shoulder to where Palmer is rinsing out the sink and leaves without ever revealing his presence to the younger man. Gibbs isn't sure what to think as he enters the elevator; it's rare that Ducky leaves in the early morning hours and the fact that McGee didn't call Abby when he finished lunch with Langer yesterday is a bit unusual, but not something he's going to worry about immediately. He has more important things on his mind right now.

He steps out onto the catwalk, and sighs as he looks down at the three numbskulls as he calls them, wishing he could just wave that magic wand Abby sometimes accuses him of having and get his team back. DiNozzo, McGee and David are his team; not these three and definitely not with a mole hiding in amongst them. Langer, Keating and Lee: his current MCRT and his bigger worry; which one is going to prove to be the mole? The difficult part was going to be how to prove just who the mole is and how to flush them out of hiding.

He didn't think it was Langer no matter what McGee's financial search has found. His gut still believes in the former FBI agent. Keating wasn't intelligent enough to be the mole. He was a computer geek and nothing more. McGee at the greenest stage of probie could still have run circles around him in the field. Then there was Lee; lawyer now part of his MCRT and his gut has never trusted lawyers. Not since the first ex-wife, and definitely not now.

He looks up at the Director's office door, noting that while the secretary is in, Vance has yet to make an appearance. Just then Pam's telephone rings and she answers it with a smile. She listens to the voice on the other end and says "Yes sir, I'll tell him." before hanging up. Spying Gibbs on the catwalk, she glides over to where he is standing and tells him that Vance has a meeting that will keep him out of the office all day.

"Sec-Nav?" Gibbs asks and Pam shakes her head as she smiles.

"I'm not sure what the meeting is. He wasn't scheduled for anything until tomorrow; we were just going to work on going through more of the files that Director Shepherd left behind. In fact, there's Cynthia now."

She excuses herself and he watches thoughtfully as she and Cynthia work together. Cynthia's eyes aren't as red and swollen as they had been after Jenny's funeral. The fact that Vance had taken enough time to find her a position where she wouldn't be staring at the familiar door of her employer hadn't impressed Gibbs at the time, but now he can see that the woman is starting the healing she needs to get over Jenny's death. The two women chat amiably as Cynthia walks Pam through the computer programs that she'd been using and Pam nods as she makes notes and asks questions about things that only secretaries would know.

Gibbs turns his attention back to his "team" sighing as he watches Langer sail yet another paper ball at Keating who has no sense of humor whatsoever. His cell phone rings and he gratefully answers it, "Yeah Gibbs."

Two seconds later he's bounding down the stairs, shouting "Gear up! Dead Marine, Rock Creek Park!" as he throws Langer the car keys. He watches as the team, aside from Langer slowly get their backpacks and follow the other agent to the elevator. All three of them start squabbling and Gibbs smacks each one in the back of the head before they even get to the garage.

"Hey! Forget the petty issues amongst yourselves. We have a case to solve." He says and storms off the elevator, wishing once again that he had "his team" back.

NCIS-Seven Days

Day Two: Vance's house, two hours later:

Ducky pulls up to the house and is a bit surprised to see Tim's car already there. Surmising that whatever is going on has to do with the wording Vance has used, he shuts his car door and is about to head up the sidewalk to the front doors when Vance opens the side door of the garage and motions for him to follow him inside.

Ducky does so, still wondering why he's been called to this house and not another location. He'd thought that Operation Backstep would be in a more secure area, and for him to be called to the Director's house is a bit bewildering.

Vance leads him into his private office and offers to take his coat and hat. Ducky passes them over to him just as Timothy McGee and Brent Langer enter the room. Low playing music is turned on and Tim turns to him saying,

"Hey Ducky, I'd like you to meet Frank Parker, chrononaut."

"Oh, my. I take it this is why I've been called in? We have a Backstep in progress?"

Vance is glad he's already put the tea set down on the table. Jackie would never have forgiven him if he'd broken it. "Does everyone at NCIS know about this except me?"

Ducky smiles as he turns down the coffee that the others are drinking and turns to the semi-outraged Director. "No Director, I feel certain that the only two, now three of us who do are the ones in this room. I don't recall seeing Timothy there, however that might be due to the nature of his qualifications versus mine. I say Mr. Parker, is Dr. John Ballard still with the program?"

Parker nods, "Oh yeah, that sphere is his baby. I have to almost promise not to get anything spilled in it every time I backstep, but it can't always be helped depending on where the sphere lands. It's not a precise landing, I just hope that I don't end up buried in a hole they can't get me out of." He shudders remembering one such mission.

"Hmm, yes, we had to be very careful on choosing our chrononauts. Not everyone can take the pressure, let alone survive it."

Vance looks at the sad expression on Ducky's features. "Lost a few before it began I take it."

Ducky nods in solemn remembrance , "It was not an easy selection process. We lost a lot of good young men and women just in selecting the type we would need."

Parker frowns, "Yeah, remind me to complain about that."

Ducky's eyes twinkle, "You must have a very hard head Mr. Parker."

Parker laughs, "That's what I keep trying to tell Olga, Dr. Vukavitch. For some reason she just won't take a hint."

All of them laugh at the sexual innuendo, then sit down and start discussing what they are going to do to bring down a traitor and save a life.


	4. Chapter 3 Day Six:

Day Six: Area 51-Operation Backstep

Parker has been set up at Vance's house and on day six he calls in to his team with a brief report, stating only that he's managed to contact key agents within the Navy Yard who will help him with his mission. Dr. Bradley Talmadge raises an eyebrow when he hears that and when Parker tells him who the other three are, he has his own security officer start running background checks. Nathan Ramsey curses when he comes up against Tim's security programs.

"Now how am I supposed to get past those?" He asks no one in particular and the other scientists in the room smile.

Talmadge once again pulls out the files and whistles when he sees just who they are dealing with. He motions for John Ballard to look at the file in his hands, "I remember Ducky when he was helping us do our selections. You remember him, don't you John? They kept getting your names mixed up."

John Ballard chuckles at the memories, "Yes, although how they could possibly mistake us was always a mystery. Ballard in a wheelchair working with computers and Mallard the Medical Examiner who had a story for every situation; or was it a situation behind every story?"

Dr. Isaac Mentnor is reading over Tim's file and smiles as he remembers the young college student that had challenged everything they were doing and then looks up at Talmadge . "This is the young man who questioned everything we were doing Bradley. I remember him, and have kept in touch with him. I believe all of us have, with the possible exception of our beautiful colleague here."

"I do not believe I have ever heard of this Timothy McGee. Why would you keep in touch with him?"

Mentnor looks at her, "He's the computer genius who helped John get mobilized. Without him, John wouldn't be able to do half the repairs on the sphere that he does."

Olga stares at Ballard who is nodding in agreement, "He's the one who made suggestions about suspending me while I work and how to do it without a lot of pain. I have a lot to thank him for but I hadn't thought he'd go into NCIS. He's a brilliant young man, I just never visualized him as an actual field agent. Computers, cyber-crimes, those I could see him doing but, I guess I'm just another one who didn't see the man behind the computer so to speak."

Olga frowns, "If he is so intelligent, why didn't you invite him to the program?"

Dr. Talmadge speaks up, "We've tried, but he's where he wants to be. He's doing something that he loves and we respect him for that, but it doesn't mean we still don't try to get him here."

Ramsey frowns, "So how in the name of all that's holy do we do a background check on these men?"

Talmadge looks at Mentnor who says gently "You don't Nathan; once you pulled up the files we do have, there was no being able to get further information. Timothy will have seen to that."

"So how in Hell's name do we help Parker?"

"We trust in the team that's there Nate." Talmadge looks at the others who all nod in agreement. Parker sighs as he hangs up the phone. The problem they are facing now isn't Gibbs; it's Langer.

He looks up as Vance enters the den. "Any ideas now how we get Langer to go along with this subterfuge?"

Tim knocks and enters the room, "I have two ideas, not sure which one you'd rather go with Frank."

Vance looks at him, "Do I want to know what's going on?"

Tim glances at Parker who shrugs as he says, "The main thing is that we have got to make Gibbs and everyone else believe it. Not to mention have Ducky appear to sign a death certificate."

Ducky enters the room and states, "A death certificate is one thing my good fellow; it's getting Gibbs and your mole to believe the scenario that will be difficult."

The hardest part has been trying to get Langer to cooperate. The man refuses to believe that his life could be in danger. Taking him out has not been an easy task; Tim finally just pulls out his Sig and motions for the other agent to go with them. Langer tries to resist and Tim shoots him point blank in the chest.

Frank had blinked when he saw Tim do that, then realized that Tim had used blanks. The impact being hard enough to knock the other man into one of the mainframe computers and out long enough for them to do the job they needed in order to save his life. Ducky had provided a safe sedative in order to keep him unconscious and they'd maneuvered Langer's body into Ducky's NCIS van and over to Bethesda.


	5. Chapter 4: Day 7: Epilogue

The shots rang out and Gibbs ran to save his agent. He wasn't sure he believed Lee. His gut was uneasy with labeling Langer a mole and he couldn't help feeling that something was terribly, horribly wrong with the situation. Skidding to a stop, he sees Lee holding a gun in shaking hands. Langer is slumped down beside a mainframe computer blood seeping out of the bullet holes that Lee had just put into him. He feels for a pulse. Nothing, and now he's wondering how he could have been so wrong about an agent he'd trusted to have his six.

Lee is still standing on the spot from where she had shot Langer. Gibbs gently takes the gun from her hand and escorts her out of the building. Neither of them witness what happens next.

Frank B. Parker lets out a deep breath and coughs as he does so. The bulletproof vest has done its job, saving the life of the agent wearing it. Lee's aim had been true for once, but now they have the hard part to finish up. He winces as he looks at the blood packs and once again he wonders just how and why he'd trusted Tim McGee. He's glad he did, as it means that Brent Langer is still alive. He can hear footsteps and once again slows his heartbeat down to zero. His job is harder now; staying alive long enough to get down to Autopsy.

The footsteps stop by his side and he stays motionless. Ducky motions for the "body" to be removed and Frank almost lets out a sigh of relief. Remembering that he, or rather Langer, is supposed to be dead, he waits until they are on the elevator and Ducky gives him the all clear before taking that next deep breath.

He coughs and Ducky does a quick exam. "You'll be fine my boy. Just a few more minutes now. Eyes closed, that's it."

The elevator doors open and Jimmy starts to come over when Ducky waves him away. "Not this time, Mr. Palmer. This one is personal you might say."

"Very well Dr. Mallard. I'll see you in the morning then?"

"That you will, Mr. Palmer, that you will."

The elevator doors close and Ducky exhales. He turns off the cameras and then moves over to Frank's side.

"Rise and shine Mr. Parker, you're safe for the time being."

"What about Langer?"

"He actually did slip into a small coma; I have some colleagues at Bethesda keeping an eye on him. He's under a different name of course. He will pull out of it, but he is out of commission, out of harm's way so to speak and that will help Gibbs and the Director put the traitor away."

"I almost felt sorry for Gibbs. Is he going to be okay?"

"Mmm, yes, Jethro will be fine my boy. He'll get to the bottom of what is going on. The Director will let him rant and rave at the way we had to deceive him and then he'll be fine. In the meantime, we need to get you on a private flight back to Area 51."

Tim is waiting for them in one of the agencies sedans and Parker smiles as the young agent motions once again for him to stay down. They make it past the guard shack and then they're at the airport where Vance told them the flight would be departing.

"Frank Parker, it has been an honor and a privilege getting to know you. Take care of yourself my boy and keep in touch if you would."

"Thanks Ducky, for a Medical Examiner, you're not too bad yourself. Keep those stories coming, I like to think you're annoying someone with them."

Ducky laughs as he waves the other two on their way.

Parker looks at Tim before he steps onto the plane. "That lady you're so fond of, the one you won't talk about, make sure you contact her. She deserves to know how you feel even if it's not reciprocated. Who knows, maybe one day you'll email me and I'll have a wedding to attend."

Tim nods and shakes his hand, "It's been a pleasure Frank."

"You know, it really has Tim. It really has, you take care now and don't let Vance keep you in that dungeon forever. You have a talent, McGee; use it wisely. Oh and by the way, you should have Agent Lisa fall in love with McGregor; they'd make a cute couple."

He laughs as Tim blushes. Shaking hands once again, Parker boards the plane that will take him back to Area 51 and Timothy McGee watches as the plane takes off, wondering what adventures the chrononaut will be going on next. Smiling to himself, he saunters over to the sedan, thinking about Parker's last words.

Six months later:

Frank Parker opens up an email and laughs when he sees the wedding invitation. It's not to Timothy McGee's wedding however.

"You are formally invited to attend the wedding between Agent Lisa and Agent McGregor in Thom E. Gemcity's newest novel LJ Tibbs and the Chrononaut."


End file.
